Our Design Process

When it comes to making the commitment to integrate a water feature into your landscape, Pondering Waters will help you every step of the way.  We’re here to help you no matter what budget you’re on, or what type, size and style of water feature you’re considering.  The possibilities are endless, so for starters here are a few things to bear in mind while you begin to imagine your new landscape addition.

 Understandably, everyone is very budget-minded these days, but this is perhaps the first and foremost important aspect of your design.  Your budget will eventually determine things such as size, how creative we’re able to get with the design, and integration of other features such as bog areas, and large boulders for a more dramatic effect.

 Another important consideration is the kind of fish you’d like to have, if any.   For example, the difference in cost and design of a pond designed for koi and one designed for goldfish is significant, because koi need more depth, more filtration and a larger area to swim.

 Next, location for the water feature should be determined.  We always suggest keeping all water features close to the house so you’ll get the most enjoyment out of it.  Also, just because you enjoy your pond during the day certainly doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it at night as well!  Landscape lighting and underwater lighting is a dramatic way to highlight and showcase your design, and allows you to enjoy your water feature around the clock.

 Finally, we’ll go over the design process with you.  When we meet, we’ll ask questions to determine if we can implement all of your goals into the design.  After we go over your design considerations, we’ll go outside to visit the proposed location, use a length of rope or garden hose to layout the size and shape, and take a digital photograph of the area.  Back in our offices, using specialized computer software, we realize your design in 3D, and can even include animation.  With this 3-dimensional rendering, our clients get a better perspective of what the finished product will look like, rather than looking at a crude 2-dimensional sketch on paper.  See an example below.